He had surgery 10 months ago after sustaining an horrendous looking knee injury in the NFC Championship game. As athlete knee injuries go, it was bad, but not insurmountable - a torn ACL and MCL. In other words, it wasn't the type of injury that ended fellow 49er Marcus Lattimore's professional career before it truly began.

Still, a complete recovery in under a year is remarkable, despite the outliers. It could be that Bowman's knee is not robotic and he's not super-human. It may actually take him a year to recover.

He hopes it's sooner. The 49ers haven't decided when Bowman will actually make his return. He has until Tuesday to get back on the practice field and be removed from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. If not, he'd be placed on injured reserve and re-set for the 2015 season.

In Bowman's absence, Chris Borland and Michael Wilhoite are starting at inside linebackers. The defense isn't a team of no names, but it isn't being held up by superstars, either. Patrick Willis is out for the year with a toe injury. Aldon Smith has missed the first 10 weeks of the season, but returns this week after serving out his nine-game NFL suspension. It's not clear just how much he can and will play against the Giants.

Bowman's presence would be a tremendous boost. However, the team has done well without him and remain in playoff contention.